


The Aftermath

by Suzurin



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Genre: Banter, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 23:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5434235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzurin/pseuds/Suzurin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyle married Cecilia, then took off one day, leaving Cecilia to pick up the pieces. Yue desperately wants to help her friend get back on track, but how? Jake/Yue toward the end</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a couple of weeks after Kyle leaves.

Yue was having an unbelievable day.

Her husband had left first thing in the morning to go comfort his lost love about her missing husband (who would comfort Yue was a valid question at this point); her own son refused to speak to her, insisting she was just like all the other dirty humans he was meant to look down upon; and she felt as sick as a dog, promptly vomiting all over her beautiful kimono when she attempted to get dressed, and the Clinic had been closed since they had gone to check on Cecilia. Worse than all of that, however, was the fact that she couldn't find anyone to talk to about any of it, because they would all point out how her problems were nothing compared to Cecilia's.

As a direct result, Yue had begun to hate her sweet half-elven friend.

... Well, no, that wasn't quite right. She could never hate Cecilia. She hated—

Abruptly, she pushed away that train of thought. No need to start thinking about such things just after she woke up.

She curled in on herself a little more, dragging the bedsheets fully over her head. Briefly, Yue wondered if her illness would kill her if she just stayed there. It took a little longer than normal for the implication of having that thought to get her to sit up.

The world spun as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She hunched over as a fresh wave of nausea swept through her, harshly swallowing the rising bile. It took a few minutes for the feeling to disappear, and when it finally did she felt exhausted. Getting out of bed should not require this much effort. Maybe she should just consider taking the day off to relax...

With a reluctant sigh, she got up and slowly made her way to the dresser.

 

After visiting the bathhouse and taking a long bath to clear her head (she silently thanked whoever was listening that Julia had opened for business for the day, even if all the blonde had wanted to chat about was Cecilia), she felt slightly more chipper and ready to make it through the day. As she began making her way along the road, she couldn't help glancing down the adjoining road as she approached the general store. It still seemed surreal to think that even if she walked along that dirt path, she would no longer see Kyle tending to his crops in the field. He would no longer be running around with his son and his monsters, bringing warmth and joy to all who witnessed their merriment. He would no longer answer any and all requests on the board in the plaza, no matter how stupid or ridiculous the request may be.

The ache in her heart was growing. She quickened her pace, hurrying into the general store and slamming the door loudly, as if trying to outrun the pain. Yue stood there with her forehead pressed against the door, steadying her breathing. She eventually turned to see Douglas staring at her from his position by the counter. She mustered up a faint smile, receiving a slight nod in return.

"You okay?" He broke the silence before she could. She hesitated, considering just lying and saying yes, but decided against it. The need to talk was overwhelming, and considering Douglas's straightforward personality, he seemed as good as any to be her confidant.

"Well... No, actually. Neither physically nor emotionally." She laughed awkwardly for a bit. Silence ensued and she stared at the floor, unsure of what to say next. A loud scraping noise startled her, and she lifted her head to see that Douglas had produced a chair and placed it next to the counter, gesturing her to sit. Yue smiled gratefully and sat.

The general store owner leaned against the counter, seemingly waiting for her to talk. She took a deep breath. "Kyle disappeared two weeks ago." She paused. She knew he already knew that. All of the village knew it. It was as good a lead-in as anything, though. "It was a shock to everyone, especially Cecilia and Aaron, of course. Poor Cecilia was frantic. It took some serious work from everyone to keep her from charging blindly into all of those dungeons in search of him. Even Aaron, who'd been the last one to see him, was in better shape than her. I guess it's true what they say, love makes you crazy," She joked halfheartedly, taking another pause.

"... The girl was in seriously bad shape. Jake and I were always there with her and Aaron, making sure they ate and were alright while everyone else searched for Kyle. She was so desolate, so devoid of life... It was painful to watch," Her voice was breaking now, "And the more time I spent with her... The more I heard this voice in the back of my head saying, 'Thank God it wasn't me,'" Her voice broke completely into a whisper and she laughed bitterly. "Terrible, right? My friend's life has been turned completely upside-down, and all I can think about is myself."

Tears started flowing against her will and she wiped furiously at her eyes. "I keep trying to get rid of these thoughts. This isn't the time for them. I shouldn't…" She trailed off, looking away uncomfortably as she dried her tears with her sleeve. Yue spoke up again after a while, her voice unwavering. "Do you know how long it's been since Cecilia's smiled? A real, true smile? Now, she laughs and jokes around and chats with people like normal, but when nobody's looking she has that same empty look on her face that she had when he left. I want to help her. I want to do more than just watch her wither away."

She gave a decisive sniff, and looked Douglas straight in the eye for the first time since she walked in. "I want to make everything okay again. I want those two to be happy, they deserve it. I want every day to be happy and great, and when Kyle comes back… I want to chop him for ever having left my best friend," She declared and gave the table a great chop, clutching her hand in pain afterwards.

A sudden weight on her head made her look up to see Douglas grinning at her. He roughly tousled her hair, causing her to squeak. "You're a good kid, Yue."

An embarrassed flush lit up Yue's face, and she attempted to smooth down her hair, grumbling, "I'm not a kid, y'know…"

"Yeah, yeah, sure you're not." He pulled away and walked to the back of the store, where he started messing around with his merchandise. "I wish I could tell you what to do, kiddo, but if I knew, I woulda already done it. Still, we each have things that only we can do. You've just gotta find out what yours is."

Douglas stopped talking and Yue knew the conversation was over. She slumped forward a bit, feeling as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders. Noting that her nausea had disappeared for the nonce, she pondered over the man's words. Eventually, she slid from the chair and shuffled to the door.

"Yue," Douglas spoke back up suddenly, making her jump. She turned to look at him, and was greeted with a soft smile. "Just so you know… We all had that same thought, 'Thank God it wasn't me.' It's only selfish if that's where you stop."

Yue's heart swelled with emotion, and she ducked her head, hiding her tearful smile. "Thank you, Douglas," She whispered, then slipped through the doorway.

The man smiled as he continued his work.

 

After returning home, Yue plopped into a kitchen chair with a sigh. What exactly should she be doing? What _could_  she do? She sighed again and looked absentmindedly around her kitchen, mind running with nowhere to go. An unopened letter on the nearby table caught her eye and she grabbed it, opening it with a swift motion.

She scanned the first few lines. "Oh, it's just from Mikhail…" She trailed off in disappointment, skimming the rest of the letter with disinterest. Mikhail was a fellow merchant, or so he fancied himself, though "wandering artist" was a more suitable title. He was talented, however, particularly at finer detail pieces, and had recently expanded into jewelry. His pieces were coveted across the land, making it easy for him to be able to  _be_  a wandering artist and not starve.

"Close by… couple days… Thursday… Repay favor… Wait, what?" Yue hurriedly reread the letter with wide eyes. When she finished, she slammed it down onto the table excitedly. "This is it!" Her eye caught the calendar and she stopped rejoicing. It was Tuesday! It would take at least a day and a half to get there, and that was if she didn't stop to rest! "Shoot!"

She hurriedly ran upstairs, scrambling desperately to pack her bag with necessities. "Aaaaah, where's my sleeping bag?" She crashed and slammed and threw things this way and that, and by the time she was done it looked like a hurricane had hit. Slinging the oversized bag over her shoulder almost knocked her over, but she raced down the stairs and out the door.

The woman on a mission paused next to the mailbox. "I really should tell Jake or Orland I'm leaving, shouldn't I…" Around that time, Orland would normally still be in school, so she ran off towards Kyle's and Cecilia's home in search of Jake.

Unfortunately, she was met with empty fields, empty barns, and an empty home. Her frustration growing by the second, Yue was contemplating just writing a note and pasting it to the door, when she heard the last person she was prepared to talk to at the moment calling her name. "Yue! It's so nice to see you! I've missed you."

The woman in question mustered up a smile and turned to greet Cecilia, hoping it would last until she left. "Hi Cecilia! I've missed you too! Sorry I haven't been around here lately, I've been sort of busy… I'm actually in kind of a rush at the moment, and I'm looking for Jake. Have you seen him?" It was an unnecessary question, of course Cecilia had seen him. She had seen Jake more than Yue had seen him, lately… Yue felt her smile cracking and hurriedly tried to dispel those thoughts.

Cecilia seemed to deflate slightly upon learning Yue couldn't stay. "Oh… That's a shame, but I understand. As for Jake, he and Aaron actually just went to Blessia Island. I think they're either fishing or training? Whichever the case, they seem to really have taken to each other… It's rather cute," The orange-haired woman chuckled, smiling warmly at the thought.

The blue-haired woman smiled softly as well. It was always nice to hear when Jake started to open up to people. She felt proud… though there was that same strange sense of discomfort that she'd felt earlier. "Well, if you could let Jake know that I'm going to be traveling for a few days, then that would be great. I have to meet a friend in another town to pick up some merchandise, so I should be back by this weekend."

Her friend hesitated, and an expression Yue had seen much too often flashed across Cecilia's face. "… You're leaving?" She questioned, chewing her fingernail anxiously.

Yue grinned, reaching forward to give the other girl a quick embrace. "Don't worry, I'll definitely come back. I'm on a bit of a time crunch, so I have to go now… but I'll see you soon. Don't worry," She sang cheerfully, turning on her heel to walk away. The two girls waved at each other until they couldn't see each other any longer.

Cecilia kept her hand in the air for a few moments longer, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Be safe, Yue, and come back soon…" She murmured, holding her hand to her chest. Eventually, she too walked away, heading to the fields to tend to the crops.

 

It had occurred to Yue right before she left the village that if Aaron was out fishing with Jake, then Orland must be out of school too. While it would take too much time to sail to Blessia Island and find Jake to say goodbye, she decided it was imperative that she at least say goodbye to Orland. After all… She couldn't let him think that she had left like Kyle.

Yue found her son right outside of the school, looking at the cherry blossom trees. She reminisced on how they used to come here often, watching the petals blow in the wind, her laughing as he always tried to catch one before it fell, and taking home the ones he did catch to press into bookmarks. Now, however… Now he just gave her cold looks, like the one he was giving her at that moment, having noticed her arrival. She noticed his eyes widen when he saw her bag, however.

"... Mother? What... What are you doing?"

Orland stood tensely in place, with the demeanor of a cornered animal. Yue approached slowly, cautiously, trying to give off a harmless air. "It's okay, Orland… It's okay. I just came to tell you that I'm only leaving for a few days. I'll be back either Saturday or Sunday," She cooed, stopping when she had gotten as close as she thought he would let her. It depressed her, occasionally, that she had to act this way around her baby boy, but Jake always reassured her that it was just a phase.

Her son chewed his lip and looked away, conflicted. "… Is this because of what I said?" She blinked. "I really… I didn't mean it, Mother. I was just…" He looked almost in pain as he ran his hand through his hair. "I was mad, and I—I just—You are a human, but you're a special human—"

He was cut off by the sounds of his mother snickering, and he looked at her with a mixture of confusion and irritation. "S-Sorry," Yue stammered, trying to stifle her snickers. She used the opportunity to swoop in and envelop him in her arms, holding him tightly to prevent his escape. He stiffened and squirmed slightly, but didn't attempt to extract himself.

"I'm not mad, honey. I… was sad, yes, but I would never leave you." She smiled delightedly as she felt him hesitantly wrap his arms around her in return. "I need to make a short trip to see a friend in another village. He'll be leaving Thursday night, and I'm not sure when he'll be in the area again, so I need to leave now. I really need to get him to make something for me, it's very important. I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

Orland pulled back to look at her, his brow furrowed. "Then I'll go with you."

Yue ran her hand through his hair, smiling fondly. "I can't let you miss out on that much school, honey, you'll fall behind. You need to stay with your father and help take care of Aunt Cecilia and Aaron. I'm trusting you to keep the house in order until I get back."

Her son continued to look conflicted, shaking his head. "But you shouldn't just go by yourself… Have you told Father about this yet?"

She sighed, beginning to feel slightly exasperated. "No, I don't have time to go to Blessia Island to find him, I really need to go now, if I'm going to make it. I asked Cecilia to tell him when she sees him. I traveled by myself all the time before I married your father, I'll be just fine. Have a little faith in your mother, Orland." She stuck out her tongue playfully and ruffled her son's hair, before gathering her things again.

The boy's eyebrows knit together in concern, but he doubtfully nodded nonetheless.

"Good boy. I'll see you soon, okay? There should be enough food in the fridge to last until I get back. If you get extra hungry, ask Grandpa Egan to whip you up something, he won't mind."

She took a few steps away, noticing Orland took a step in her direction as she did so. He looked as if he had something to say, but with no intention of saying it. She gave him a small smile and waved before walking determinedly off.

Her son stood there, staring at her retreating back. He eventually looked away, sighing. "How am I supposed to explain this to Father…?"

 

Someone up in heaven must have hated Yue. 'I'll be back either Saturday or Sunday' had become a complete lie. Due to weather conditions, the roads had been absolutely flooded after she arrived at her destination, holding her there for four days. Four. Whole. Days. She cursed herself the whole time for not checking in with Alicia about the weather, and futilely wrote a letter back home, wondering if it would reach there before she could. When they were in the eye of the storm, stupid, impatient-as-hell Yue had jumped on the opportunity and tried booking it home.

Unfortunately, the storm was once again upon her in no time, and she had been holed up in a cave for another couple of days. The wretched storm finally passed, and she hurried home... only to get attacked by an orc archer. Somehow, she managed to defeat it with her frying pan (her frying pan was rather worse for the wear, however), but it had still managed to damage her leg, which slowed her process by a day.

She was practically crawling by the time she reached Alvarna, and she sighed with relief when she saw the familiar buildings. The exhausted woman really just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for an eternity, but she had things to do, and wanted to get them done with as soon as possible. Luckily for her, Barrett noticed her on his way to the plaza and quickly helped her get to the Clinic.

As expected, everyone she came into contact with had several questions about her prolonged disappearance, their expressions all mixtures of concern and relief. The ex-traveling merchant felt so glad that so many people cared for her, and was very grateful that Cecilia had taken the time to explain to everyone that she was simply on a merchandise run, and had not, in fact, left for good. Still, she felt guilty for causing worry, and simultaneously explained and apologized to every person who asked—which ended up being almost everyone in the village—and the sun was starting to set by the time she made it to Cecilia's house.

Not bothering to knock, Yue stepped inside, calling for her best friend when she didn't see her upon entry. Soft footsteps came from upstairs as someone came down the stairs. There was a flash of orange, and suddenly Yue was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Yue! You're finally back! I missed you! Oh, are you okay? Did something happen? Why were you gone for so long?" The orange-haired woman pulled back, peering worriedly into her friend's face. The other woman stared at her with widened eyes in response.

Well, at least she seemed better. Yue shook herself out of it and smiled back. "I'm okay, no, nothing happened, and a lot of bad luck with weather delayed me. You seem well. I didn't get the chance to ask you last time, but how is everything?" It was an average, everyday sort of question, especially with the casual way she went about asking it, but both women knew the seriousness behind it.

Cecilia's smile had a tinge of sadness to it. "It's been alright. Every day is still hard. Aaron's so strong, he's taken over so many of his father's chores without one complaint. He doesn't talk to me about how he feels anymore. I think he doesn't want to worry me. He's such an angel, I don't know what I'd do without him..." She was reverting back to the heartbroken Cecilia that she'd been ever since the disappearance of her husband. "I'm a terrible mother, I need to get my act together... Jake tells me not to worry about it, that I'll find my strength again soon enough. He's been such a sweetheart also. He's always here, always trying to get me to go out and do things, making sure I eat enough... I'm not sure what I'd do without him either." She smiled sadly again, not noticing how her friend smiled awkwardly back.

"Speaking of Jake, is he here right now?" Yue changed the subject, trying to dispel some of the awkward she felt. She'd discuss how she felt later with the man in question, no need to bring Cecilia into this.

A shake of an orange-haired head answered her question. "Not right now, he took Aaron to go fish for dinner again. It's become a daily activity for them," She giggled.

Yue laughed as well as she searched through her bag for the reason she was there. "Well, I hope you're not sick of fish yet, then! By the way, Ceci... I have something for you." Finally locating the item, she closed her hand around it and held her fist out to Cecilia, waiting. Surprised, Cecilia held out her hands and stared at the locket Yue dropped into them.

It was of a rectangular shape with rounded corners, a small design etched onto the front. Upon closer inspection, the design appeared to be the symbol of a heart made by two hands put together. Simple, but cute. She hesitantly opened the locket and gasped. Inside were two pictures: one from her wedding day, and the other clearly of a more recent date, with her, Kyle and Aaron all standing together for a family picture. She looked up at Yue with tears in her eyes. "How did you...?"

Yue spread her arms in a grandiose manner. "Magic!" She dropped them almost immediately, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Nah, I just know a guy who's really good at fine detail. He specializes in paintings for lockets and such, y'know!" Her eyes softened and she took Cecilia's hands, squeezing the locket between them gently.

"Ceci, I know this can't be easy. He suddenly left, saying he had to do something important, and you don't know if he's still alright or not. But sweetie, quite frankly, you can't keep going on like this. You need to take care of yourself, for your sake, Aaron's sake, and for all of our sakes. We're all here for you if you need it, you know that. But think of this as your wake-up call." She winked. "When times get really tough, just look at these pictures. There are bad times as well as good times. You can keep going, you can make it. You have everyone behind you, you have your son, and I know Kyle's with you in spirit. He probably can't wait to be here physically, too! He wouldn't want you to suffer like this. So please. With the love of your family, move past this."

Cecilia stared quietly at the pictures as Yue retracted her hands. Eventually, she nodded, wiping away her tears. She looked at her human friend and smiled. "Thank you, Yue. Thank you so much." They hugged, not knowing what else to say. Really, nothing else needed to be said. As they pulled away, they heard voices coming towards them.

"... just not fair how you caught so much more, I think you cheated!"

"How could I cheat at fishing?"

The door opened. "I don't know, but you did- Auntie Yue?" There in the doorway stood a surprised Aaron and an equally surprised Jake. The boy ran and attacked his 'auntie' with a hug. "When did you get back? I missed you!"

Yue laughed and returned the hug. "Just got back today. I heard you went fishing, how did that go?"

Aaron pulled away quickly and pointed accusingly at Jake. "He cheated! I don't know how, but all the fish bit his line and not mine!" The boy stuck his tongue out at the older man, but Jake didn't respond to him, his eyes still locked on his wife. She caught his unspoken message of 'we need to talk.'

She smiled at Aaron and patted him on the head kindly. "There, there. You're right, he cheats. So I'm going to take him home and give him a long lecture about cheating, alright? You and your mom have a lovely dinner." Yue hugged Cecilia goodbye as Aaron stuck his tongue out at Jake again, in victory this time. Jake rolled his eyes, but gave a small smirk before he grabbed his wife's hand and dragged her out of there.

The walk home was silent but brief, as he proceeded home at a rapid pace, dragging her behind him. She knew he didn't want to talk about this in public.

They got home and Orland's eyes lit up when he saw his mother, but he quickly sat back down when he saw his father's face. He'd have to wait, he could tell.

The couple finally reached their room and Jake closed—not slammed, which Yue felt rather proud of—the door behind them. They stared at each other for a while. Eventually, her leg made it known that it still hurt, so she sat on the bed, rubbing gently at it. Jake was at her side in an instant, lifting the bottom of her kimono slightly to reveal the bandage wrapped around her leg. He inspected it quietly, his brows furrowing.

"Why?" He finally spoke. She smiled. He was always to the point.

"An orc archer. I took him down, but he got the spring on me." A myriad of emotions flickered across his face as he looked up at her. Yue reached out to tuck a particularly unruly lock of silver hair behind his ear, gently brushing her fingertips against his cheek and watching his eyes flicker shut momentarily at the contact. "I'm alright. You don't have to worry." She softly caressed his cheek and he leaned into the touch.

"You left," he said simply.

"So did you," she replied quietly.

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "When?"

"Everyday. You left to help Ceci. So did I." He didn't like her logic, she knew. But he couldn't argue with it.

"You always knew where I was, though." Strike that, maybe he could.

She hesitated and pulled her hand back, looking away uncomfortably. Should she finally spill what's been bothering her? Yue felt her husband's eyes scanning her face, and she sighed, knowing there was no escape at this point. "… I don't want you to take this the wrong way, okay?" She began cautiously, waiting for him to nod slowly in reply before she continued. "I know that you love me and Orland, but I was worried—"

"You didn't—"

"Now hold on—"

"You thought I would leave you?"

Yue shut her eyes and rubbed her face exasperatedly in response to Jake's indignant tone. "Look, it's not something I actively thought would happen… But neither was Kyle leaving. You know how much he loved— _loves_  Ceci and Aaron. But he still… just left, out of the blue." She kept her eyes shut, not ready to face him. "It… was a thought that just wouldn't leave my head, that was just always in the back of my mind. And… I don't know," She shrugged half-heartedly, "not seeing you in the morning when I woke up didn't help, I guess."

Jake went silent at that, and she hurriedly went to correct herself. "Not that I'm blaming you for that or anything, I know you wanted to help Ceci, and that's great, we should all be doing that. I just…" She trailed off, frustrated at not being able to find the right words.

There was a moment of silence between them, before he reached up and gently took her hands. She looked at him, and the warmth and love in his expression took her breath away. "Yue," He murmured, and her face flushed involuntarily. Oh, how she had missed feeling like this. "I swear to you right now, upon my life, that I will never leave you and Orland. Nothing could ever tear me away from you two. I will always, always be by your sides."

Yue's throat closed up, and she tried to blink away the tears. "Wow. Guess I'm super stuck with you then, you stalker."

Jake snorted and reached up to wipe away a tear escaping from his wife's eye. "Please. You're the one who dropped twenty gold on Alicia for location predictions all the time, whenever I wasn't in the shop. Should've run away when I had the chance."

She gasped dramatically. "Such slander! I am a lady, sir, I would never partake in such unsavory activity!" She snickered at the look he gave her. "Though I'd like to point out that even if you did run away, I would've just used her location predictions again."

He chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers. "Guess I'm super stuck with you too, then."

She smiled brightly, relishing his warmth, before she pulled back slightly and kissed his forehead. "Guess I should say it back, then." Confusion etched itself onto Jake's face as she slid off the bed and knelt on the ground as well. "I swear to you upon my life, right now, that I will never leave you and Orland," She repeated, staring deep into his eyes, "I will always be with you… Unless I decide to go on another merch trip by myself," She teased, winking.

His eyes narrowed and his eyebrow rose, assuming one of her favorite expressions of his. "Right… Because clearly, since this one ended so well," He gestured to her injured leg, "you'd want to do it again. Yes, I see the logic in this."

She shook her head condescendingly, waving her finger in the air. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, my naïve husband. Don't you know you can't tie down a wild soul such as myself? I have to be out there, selling expensive merch to penny-pinching clients, providing birthday presents to children who have never been given one before, seducing half-elves into overcoming their hatred of humans!"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no. If you're going to deny that I made Mrs. I-will-travel-anywhere-and-everywhere settle down, then you're not getting credit for making me 'overcome my hatred of humans.'"

She pouted, then gave a sly smile. "But you don't deny that I seduced you?"

He looked at her for a long moment, and before she could witness any change in his expression, a sudden, sharp pain shot through her leg, letting her know she had kept her position on the floor for too long. Yue clutched it, hissing in pain for only a moment, before she was abruptly lifted into the air and deposited onto the bed.

Her heart caught in her throat as she stared up at her husband, her breathing shallow and rapid as he stared at her with  _that look_. That look he reserved only for her. He ran his fingers through her hair, bringing a lock of it up to his lips. "Shall I prove my love for you, Yue?" His husky voice sent shivers down her spine. A more carnal part of her urged her to say yes, but she shook her head hastily, remembering that their son was still waiting for them downstairs.

"Too bad. I'm going to prove it anyways."

Suddenly, his lips were on hers and she could breathe again.

Dimly, she realized that she really ought to stop him, weakly trying to fend him off as he reached for her kimono. It was only after he moved his lips down to the side of her neck that she could speak—well, squeak. "O-Orland is waiting for us downstairs, we should go."

He paused, but didn't move. "I've been waiting three weeks. My son can wait a little longer."

She gasped—of course he remembered where the good spot on her neck was, darn him—and playfully swatted his shoulder. "H-Hey now, more than half of that time was your own f-fault. N-Now if you'll excuse me,  _my_  son is waiting." He finally pulled back and she sighed, out of both relief and disappointment.

"Alright." Before she could move, Jake gently tilted her chin up. "This is what I'm leaving you with." He leaned back down and claimed her lips again, taking advantage of her small gasp to deepen it. He pulled away after a few moments, leaving her out of breath and staring at him.

"Darn you." She reached for him, but he slipped away and made his way towards the door. He held it open with a small smirk, waiting as she glared at the ceiling from her position on the bed. "My leg's hurt, y'know," she grumbled.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, but as we both know, if I go over there again we won't be going downstairs for quite some time." His wife's face reddened at that, and she grumbled some more as she got up. As she limped slightly past him, she grabbed his hand and he intertwined their fingers, just as they always did.

They made their way downstairs to see their son, knowing everything would be alright. The unlikely couple's love would prevail over whatever conflict faced them next. Everyone in the village would support Cecilia and Aaron as their lives got back to semi-normal. Lives would keep moving on, time would keep ticking, and everything would be alright.

That's what Yue believed.

**Author's Note:**

> I still wish the people who had made the game had actually written some story or change to Jake's character if he marries Yue, rather than just keeping him and his son human-haters. It leads to a lot of confusion (and is particularly funny, because Jake marries Yue faster than any of the other rival bachelors). But I guess it's up to the fanfic writers to explain that.


End file.
